Or: what I learned from playing too much DiRT Rally (one of my favourite rally racing games.) So here's the context: I'm playing "career mode", in which I buy a car, hire a couple of engineers, and go out to race. In order to win the championship, I have to have the best time across... Continue Reading →
Perspective: Million vs. Billion
"How long is a million seconds? How many days do you think that is?" I asked."I don't know," she said, then started counting, realised it was pretty hard to do in your head, then stopped.I gave her the answer: "approximately 11 days"."Now," I continued, "how about a billion? How many days is a billion seconds?"This... Continue Reading →
Falling to the level of our training
I first saw the following wonderful quote in a book by Joshua Medcalf (called Hustle), attributed to an anonymous Navy SEAL: Under pressure, you don't rise to the occasion, you sink to the level of your training. What a beautiful principle to live your life by. (I was particularly inspired because I have been doing quite a... Continue Reading →
Tell me what you want to see
Caught this magnificent optical illusion on kottke.org today. I'd say that is definitely this is worth a minute or two of your time. Was in my "data" frame of mind when I watched this, and couldn't help thinking that this is exactly how data works: control the content, control the angle (i.e. perception), and you can make a... Continue Reading →
On Facebook’s French Flag – Or: If one needy person, charity is done; if ten, none.
About a month ago what is now known (at least on Wikipedia) as the November 2015 Paris attacks happened, with more than a hundred people killed in mass shootings and suicide bombings. I vaguely remember first seeing reports on this on Facebook, thinking it was some sort of joke. It was unreal; classified in my... Continue Reading →
The Default Option
Saw the following via Avinash Kaushik on Google+. Too good not to share, and on so many levels. It is worth highlighting that the power of the "default option" is a very real one. Organ donation is a good example. Whether organ donation is an "opt-in" (i.e. the default option is not donating), far fewer people... Continue Reading →
Different, with a better story
I'm currently watching The Voice of China. On that show, there's this singer called Perhat. He's, in the words of his fans, an "Uyghur Rock Star". I'm not really a fan. But that's just me. Many, many others think he's the next Bob Dylan. There is something about him. He's different from the other contestants.... Continue Reading →
The Use of Worry
"Worrying doesn't get you anywhere." Or so they say, "they" being the anonymous group of trolls in my head that churns out stuff like that. But worry does have a use. It urges me to take action. Because of worry, I do things today that I'd ordinarily put off to tomorrow. I admit, worry makes... Continue Reading →
On the Endowment Effect
"There is a very real difference," my friend told me, "between getting a car 'new' and getting it 'second-hand'. When you're getting it second-hand, you have no idea what the previous owner did with (or in) the car." He should know. We were sitting in his (second-hand) car, bought just a couple of months back,... Continue Reading →
The World as it Should Be
Just thought I would share with you what has to be, for me, the quote of the week. Taken from the book Getting More, a beautiful book on negotiation by Stuart Diamond (emphasis mine): Lower your expectations. If you come into a negotiation thinking that the other side will be difficult, unfair, rude, or trying... Continue Reading →
Donn, fragments 